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Poster: AltheaRose Date: Jan 8, 2013 6:25am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

Interesting article on the business of counting record sales and "million sellers." It makes a pretty convincing case that these albums are likely to be eternally enshrined as the Biggest Global Sellers ever.

1. Michael Jackson, “Thriller”: 66,200,000
2. Soundtrack, “Grease”: 44,700,000
3. Pink Floyd, “The Dark Side of the Moon”: 44,200,000
4. Whitney Houston et al., “The Bodyguard”: 38,600,000
5. The Bee Gees at al., “Saturday Night Fever”: 37,200,000
6. The Eagles, “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975”: 36,900,000
7. Bob Marley, “Legend”: 36,800,000
8. Led Zeppelin, “IV”: 35,700,000
9. AC/DC, “Back in Black”: 35,700,000
10. Shania Twain, “Come on Over”: 35,400,000
11. Michael Jackson, “Bad”: 34,700,000
12. Soundtrack, “Dirty Dancing”: 33,300,000
13. Dire Straits, “Brothers in Arms”: 33,200,000
14. Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill”: 33,200,000
15. Fleetwood Mac, “Rumours”: 33,000,000
16. The Beatles, “1”: 32,400,000
17. Pink Floyd, “The Wall”: 31,900,000
18. ABBA, “Gold”: 31,400,000
19. Guns N’ Roses, “Appetite for Destruction”: 30,800,000
20. Simon & Garfunkel, “Greatest Hits”: 30,700,000
21. Queen, “Greatest Hits”: 30,600,000
22. Celine Dion, “Let’s Talk About Love”: 30,300,000
23. Michael Jackson, “Dangerous”: 30,200,000
24. Celine Dion, “Falling into You”: 30,200,000
25. The Eagles, “Hotel California”: 30,000,000
26. Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A.”: 29,100,000
27. Metallica, “Metallica”: 28,900,000
28. Meat Loaf, “Bat Out of Hell”: 28,700,000
29. Soundtrack, “Titanic”: 28,500,000
30. The Beatles, “Abbey Road”: 28,300,000


http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/01/did-michael-jacksons-thriller-really-sell-a-hundred-million-copies.html?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true

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Poster: elbow1126 Date: Jan 8, 2013 8:25am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

Hard to argue against the KOP nickname for MJ when you see those numbers.

I think at different points in my life i may have owned about 10-12 of those. For the record, Celine Dion/Titanic were not part of my collection before anyone decides it time for me to turn in my forum card. I will fess up to the Grease and SNF soundtracks. Pretty awesome to see Back in Black in the top 10.

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Poster: SomeDarkHollow Date: Jan 8, 2013 8:42am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

No need to "fess up" for the SNF soundtrack. Say what you will about the BeeGees stylistically, their studio work is amazing from a production standpoint. Genious stuff.

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Poster: Pig Street ! Date: Jan 8, 2013 11:33am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

Not a west-coaster but all these beautiful ones I own were and are products of the 60's
3. Pink Floyd, “The Dark Side of the Moon”: 44,200,000
7. Bob Marley, “Legend”: 36,800,000
8. Led Zeppelin, “IV”: 35,700,000
13.Dire Straits, “Brothers in Arms”: 33,200,000
15.Fleetwood Mac, “Rumours”: 33,000,000


Attachment: led-zeppelin.jpg
Attachment: bob-marley-in-concert.jpg

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Poster: snori Date: Jan 8, 2013 12:27pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

The only one of these I've ever owned is No. 30, and speaking of 'wrong' ones - how disappointing (but unsurprising) it is to see the Floyd's two worst albums here.

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Poster: William Tell Date: Jan 8, 2013 8:35pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

Syd B salutes you!

;)

[so do I!]

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Poster: snow_and_rain Date: Jan 8, 2013 8:54am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

I counted about 13 of those that I own or have owned at one time or another.

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Poster: DeadRed1971 Date: Jan 10, 2013 6:34pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

Celine Dion albums are like heroin. Millions of people buy it, but no one would ever admit to it.

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Poster: cosmicharIie Date: Jan 10, 2013 5:07pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: The Best-Selling Records Ever, Anywhere (non Dead, definitely)

I had, at one time, Abbey Road & Dark Side of the Moon

thats about it

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Poster: William Tell Date: Jan 8, 2013 11:01am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

RE: noting in the replies, those that admit to owning some of the above...this is the essence of my constant harping on the idiosyncratic "us vs them" mentality that at least all of us (IMHO) in the Bay Area endorsed/adopted/expressed unwittingly during the 70s (I admit, again, it was an obsessive bias, perhaps a grasping at straws to "save the 60s" and the significance of the SF music scene).

I can v honestly say that I owned NONE of these...note that even the PF & LZep are the "wrong" ones, etc., etc.

This is in NO way to imply that I don't actually like many of the tunes represented by these artists, esp NOW. So, it's absolutely NOT something I am proud of...

[It's similar to how the Dude would reject Eagles, but endorse CCR, even though the only sign diff (in my view) is the popularity]

Anyhoo, the "bias" I have spoken of so much, of how significant it was to view anything "pop" as suspect, well, this is an obvious "data point" revealing how strong it was...well, okay, small sample size, but you get the idea.

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Poster: ringolevio Date: Jan 8, 2013 6:16pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

You seriously don't own Abbey Road?!

I "confess" to purchasing the Eagles greatest hits as a teenager, and of course I own plenty of Bob Marley, and of course Beatles. And Springsteen.

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Poster: William Tell Date: Jan 8, 2013 7:14pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

You haven't been keeping up...

;)

Seriously, all those discussions of "the Beatles were never into the revolution" (LiA and I a few months ago)...by the time of Abbey Road they were DEFN too POP for us to view them as critical music contributors.

Again, I don't defend this myopic view NOW, but just make an observation of how biased we defenders of all things DEAD were in the 70s...

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Poster: ringolevio Date: Jan 9, 2013 10:10am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

Yeah, I've missed a lot.

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Poster: AltheaRose Date: Jan 8, 2013 6:37pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

I bet The Professor skimmed over Abbey Road. His eyes are weak from years of trying to make stereo systems out of coconuts. No Abbey Road can't be possible!

I've had:

3. Pink Floyd, “The Dark Side of the Moon”: 44,200,000
7. Bob Marley, “Legend”: 36,800,000
8. Led Zeppelin, “IV”: 35,700,000
20. Simon & Garfunkel, “Greatest Hits”: 30,700,000
30. The Beatles, “Abbey Road”: 28,300,000

As for a lot of the others, some I didn't have on a technicality (my brother had them, so I didn't need them), or they came out past my time of buying top-selling pop records. (I had early Springsteen but not Born in the USA, because by '84 I was completely uninterested.)

I can definitely vouch for the global hugeness of Titanic, though. Here it's on ring tones, dance clubs are named Titanic, houses are named Titanic (yes, people put up signs on their houses saying "Titanic"), and I've seen quite a number of trucks named Titanic. With the boat (pre-iceberg) painted on the side. Why does that not seem like a good idea?

I doubt anyone downloads it legally, though. So for all we know, Titanic would really be Number One.

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Poster: clementinescaboose Date: Jan 10, 2013 4:34pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Tell proven correct...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlmvtAHhnc

Seriously though, I love the Eagles, as much of a guilty pleasure as they may be. I wore the hell out of their greatest hits and still play it all the time. :)